In general, crystalline forms of drugs are utilized in dosage forms rather than amorphous forms of drugs, in part, because of their superior stability. For example, in many situations, an amorphous drug converts to a crystalline drug form upon storage. Because amorphous and crystalline forms of a drug typically have different physical/chemical properties, potencies and/or bioavailabilities, such interconversion is undesirable for safety reasons in pharmaceutical administration.
Polymorphs are crystals of the same molecule which have different physical properties because the crystal lattice contains a different arrangement of molecules. For example, certain polymorphs can include different hydration states that incorporate water into the crystalline structure without chemical alteration of the molecule itself. In that regard, certain compounds can exist in anhydrous and hydrated forms, where the hydrated forms can include, for example, hydrates, dihydrates, trihydrates, and the like, or partial hydrates such as hemihydrates. The different physical properties exhibited by polymorphs can affect important pharmaceutical parameters such as storage, stability, compressibility, density (important in formulation and product manufacturing) and dissolution rates (important in determining bioavailability). Stability differences may result from changes in chemical reactivity (e.g., differential hydrolysis or oxidation, such that a dosage form discolors more rapidly when the dosage form contains one polymorph rather than another polymorph), mechanical changes (e.g., tablets crumble on storage as a kinetically favored crystalline form converts to a thermodynamically more stable crystalline form) or both (e.g., tablets of one polymorph are more susceptible to breakdown at high humidity). Solubility differences between polymorphs may, in extreme situations, result in transitions to crystalline forms that lack potency and/or are toxic. In addition, the physical properties of a particular crystalline form may be important in pharmaceutical processing. For example, one particular crystalline form may form solvates more readily or may be more difficult to filter and wash free of impurities than other forms (e.g., particle shape and size distribution might be different between one crystalline form relative to other forms).
Regulatory agencies such as the United States Food and Drug Administration closely regulate the polymorphic content of the active component of a drug in solid dosage forms. In general, regulatory agencies require batch-by-batch monitoring for polymorphic drugs if anything other than the pure, thermodynamically preferred polymorph is marketed. Accordingly, medical and commercial reasons favor synthesizing and marketing the most thermodynamically stable polymorph of a crystalline drug substance in solid drugs, which is substantially free of other, less favored polymorphs.
(3R)-4-{[(1S)-2-methyl-1-(2-methylpropanoyloxy)propoxy]carbonylamino}-3-(4-chlorophenyl)butanoic acid, (1),
is a prodrug of the GABAB agonist, (R)-baclofen. (3R)-4-{[(1S)-2-methyl-1-(2-methylpropanoyloxy)propoxy]carbonylamino}-3-(4-chlorophenyl)butanoic acid, (1) exhibits high bioavailability as R-baclofen when dosed either orally or directly into the colon of a mammal (see, for example, Gallop et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,109,239 and 7,227,028).